Trapped in the Desert
by Totally Epic Drummer
Summary: Part II of "Stuck on the Island". After escaping from the volcanic eruption on an island of Hawaii, the Travel Machine accidently transports the gang to the Sahara Desert. Trapped in the middle of nowhere, the gang must try to survive the harsh desert conditions and at the same time wait patiently for Kin to work out the bugs on his invention.
1. Where on Earth are we?

The searing heat of the Sahara Desert blinds Nick Mallory for only a couple of seconds before he regains his sight. He steps out into the open and looks around to see if there's anything else apart from the blistering heat and an ocean of light brown sand stretching for miles and miles. Corey and the rest also step out and have a good look around.

"Man, I feel barbecued." Kon exclaims.

"Now I know exactly how a toast feels." Laney jokes.

"I don't see anything else out here." Mina adds. "It's completely . . . deserted."

"Duh, Mina that's why it's called a desert."

"Huh?!"

Everyone turns around in shock and instead of a kind, humbled and sweet- face, they were met with their worst nightmare. Trina.

"What are you losers all looking at?" Trina snapped. "I'm not dead!"

"Dang it Core, Trina's back." Laney whispers with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"I think we all should focus on more important things like getting out of here." Kin interrupts.

"Kin's right, we all should look for a good place to set up camp, somewhere cool." Corey states.

"But where are we going to camp?" Laney asks. "Kin might have some good tent invention that we could use but I don't see any _cool spot_ for us to set up."

As if on cue the groupies suddenly burst out of nowhere.

"GROJBAND!" they squeal. "Guess what, we managed to spot an oasis not too far from here."

"Kate, Allie where've you twos been?"

"We kind of snuck out when you were busy indulging yourselves in the scenery before you and went exploring."

"Again?"

"Uh huh, we'd do anything for Grojband."

"Ok . . . so, where is this oasis?"

"It's right around that sand dune." Allie points towards a dune of medium height about a couple of meters away.

"Nick Mallory thinks the groupies are pretty smart."

"Eeeeeee." Kate squeals.

"Lead the way." Mina instructs.

"Hold on a second." Kin spoke with urgency to his voice. "Let me just show you all something that will completely blow your brain cells out." He steps to the left side of the travel machine and to everyone's amazement, he flips open a secret compartment that no one has noticed before. Inside the compartment was a little red button. Kin quickly presses the little red button and suddenly the travel machine starts shrinking. Everyone watches in awe as the machine kept shrinking and shrinking until it was no bigger than a matchbox. Kin simply picked up the now mini sized travel machine and puts it in his shorts pocket.

"Bro, your inventions are awesome!" Kon yells with uncontrolled enthusiasm.

"Kin, that was craaaazy!" Corey shouts.

"It was nothing." Kin answers smugly.

"Nice one Kin, but we better get going." Laney says in her usual sensible manner.

"Ugh, for once I agree with Lamey." Trina pronounces with disgust.

"It's Laney!"

"Whatever!"

"Nick Mallory thinks girls should help each other out instead of arguing and being mean." Nick says with a voice like cool ice.

"That's exactly what I think too!" Trina forces a smile. "Sorry Laney." She tries to hug Laney but she backs away making Trina hug the thin air before falling face down into the sand. Mina tries to hide a snigger.

"That's enough drama people!" Kate announces at the same time clapping her hands twice. "We should get moving."

"Agreed"


	2. Oasis, and an Evening Treat

After about thirty minutes of walking around the huge sand dune, the gang and their friends finally came upon a startling sight. A few meters in front of them lay the most beautiful desert setting that anyone could ever imagine. There were green palm trees outlining the oasis which was a dark blue color that clearly reflected the clear sky above them. There were also a couple of date palms surrounding the area. A slight breeze was blowing through the palms and everyone felt the wind touch their skin making their hairs stand on the ends. Suddenly the blistering heat seemed to cool down. The gang walked towards the oasis and collapsed in one heap.

"Phew." Laney sighed "I'm never gonna complain about sweating in the garage again."

"I'm never going to skip showers again." Kon announced.

"So that's why the garage always smells so funky!" says a disgusted Trina.

"We love the smell." Kate and Allie say defensively.

"Eeeewwww!"

After almost an hour of resting, the sun was climbing higher and higher, so the gang used one of Kin's inventions called "Survival in 1". It contained three tents, some blankets, a first aid kit, a knife, some rope, a match box, a water filter and a handful of mysterious, unidentified, grey pills that Kin included. All of the supplies were packed into a little cube that Kin created after several failed attempts to squeeze all the large stuff in. All you had to do was throw the cube down hard and the force will make the cube burst open.

"How'd you create that survival cube, Kin?" Laney asks.

"It's kinda difficult to explain." Kin replies. "You wouldn't understand a word I'm saying."

"You got that right."

They continued to set up camp until the sun was almost down. The night was slowly darkening the sky and temperatures were starting to drop. Trina huddled close to Nick Mallory completely unaware of how uncomfortable he was. Mina was secretly mad but that evening she had a couple of tricks up her sleeve for Trina. She quietly left the rest of the group and went behind a couple of bushes. Corey and Laney noticed this and quickly followed her to her hiding spot.

"What are you doing, Mina?" Corey asked suspiciously.

They caught her by surprise. She jumped at the sound of Corey's voice and dropped a handful of baby scorpions at her feet.

"Ahhh, scorpions!" Laney let out a silent scream so as to not alert Trina and Nick. "What are you doing with baby scorpions, Mina?"

Mina sighed "They're not real they're just little robots my lab partners and I built, but they really look and act like the real desert scorpions, don't they?"

"Wow."

"Were you planning to scare Trina with them?"

"Yes, I know she's your sister but. . ."

"That's great!"

"Huh?"

"I know you and Nick have a little chemistry going on right?"

"Well yes, but. . ."

"But the only thing standing in your way is my sis, right?"

"Uh huh"

"Well if you scare her, she will scream and run into the tents away from Nick, which will leave him all alone for you lovebird."

"Hah . . . Ok."

"We should really tell Kin and Kon just so they're aware of the whole situation." Laney butts in.

"Good idea."


	3. Desert Secrets

While Mina and Laney stayed back to work out how to execute Mina's plan, Corey went back to the campsite and told Kin and Kon about Mina's little trick. They were thrilled.

"So do we get to scare Trina as well?" Kon asks.

"No, you don't!" Corey replied sharply. Despite all that, he still cared about Trina. "Your job is to make sure that Trina doesn't get out of the tent."

"And . . . how do we do that?" Kin pressed.

"Just keep the scorpions surrounding her tent and she won't dare to step out."

"Actually, I doubt that she will put another perfectly pedicured toenail out of her tent after getting spooked by the robots."

"I know she won't but, let's not risk it, okay?"

"Okay."

"And one last thing" Corey continued "Don't disturb Kate and Allie, they're so tired from all the walking, that they fell asleep"

"Don't worry, Corey" Kon stressed.

After a few more minutes of conspiring, the trio emerged from their tents with half smiles on their faces. Laney came out from behind the bushes and winked at them. Kin and Kon went behind Trina's tent and waited for their cue. Trina was snuggling up to Nick Mallory and was practically floating on a cloud. Nick was twisting his head this way and that way trying to see where everyone had gone. He grew suspicious. Trina on the other hand saw this as a perfect opportunity to make out.

"Oh, Nick" she trilled "This is the best time for me to tell you how much I like you."

"Nick Mallory's not in the mood for any romance, Trina Riffin." Nick answered distractedly. "Nick just wants to lie down, cause Nick's tired."

"Oh, let me kiss you goodnight then."

Trina leaned forward and was just about to place her lips on Nick's trembling lower lip when she suddenly felt something small and prickly crawl up her right ankle. She looked down to her feet.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGH, SCORPIONS!"

Trina jumped out from Nick's arms and started running around like a mad rooster. But instead of crowing she was squealing. Several scorpions had become entangled in her hair and she was trying her best to yank them out. One of Mina's robotic scorpions had also crawled up her spine and made her pink hair stand up straight. She quickly brushed them off before heading straight towards her tent and crawling into her huge sleeping bag before zipping it shut from head to toe. The night was getting cooler every minute and the feel of the scorpion's legs against her skin gave her more chills right down to her bones.

(Wicked Cool Transition)

"So did it work guys?" Mina asked shakily.

Corey looked at her with a fake miserable face.

"I didn't work!" She started sobbing. Just then Nick came up behind and wiped away a tear streaming down from her left cheek. Mina turned around.

"Nick Mallory thinks your scorpions were an awesome idea." He said soothingly.

"Nick!" Mina jumped at him. They hugged for several minutes before Nick planted a kiss on her forehead. Mina blushed. Corey and Laney felt awkward. Kin and Kon interrupted just seconds after the kiss.

"Mina, you've got the remote for the scorpions, right?"

"It's here." Mina handed them the rectangular device. Kon took it, ran back to Trina's tent and made the scorpions arrange themselves in wedged formation. He made them march from left to right. Trina stayed in the tent for the rest of the night.

. . .

"So . . . you wanna go for a walk Lanes?" Corey asked shyly.

Laney looked at him for a moment. Did he just ask me to walk with him? She thought. What's going on?

"Sure Core." She replied uncertainly. Corey held her hand and together they strolled through the palms and desert bushes. He was going to tell her once and for all. Moonlight was pouring through the slits in the palm leaves making it seem as if they were the only two people in the world. They walked on for a while before they stopped at the edge of the oasis.

"Um . . . Lanes?"

"Yeah Core"

"I kind of li . . ." Corey stopped in mid-sentence. He had just noticed that the water surface began to glow a bright shade of white light. The light was quickly spreading through the water and reaching the other side. Mina and Nick also noticed the strange activity and went for a closer look. Kin and Kon dropped the remote to join Nick and Mina. This left the scorpion robots laying all lifeless allowing Trina to escape from her tent prison. Kate and Allie who were just waking up from their little nap, noticed the strange glow and left their tent as well. They all gathered near the edge. Corey and Laney on one side of the oasis, and the rest on the other side. They stared at the surface below them wondering what to do. Then Corey stopped the wait by reaching down and running his fingers over the water. That was a big mistake. There was a sudden gust of strong wind and the water without any warning, changed into a whirlpool swirling rapidly that it quickly sucked in the gang into its unforgiving depths. In the midst of all this fear and dizziness, everyone had the same thought on their minds. What in the world is going on?


	4. Startling Discovery

The whirlpool continued to spin Corey and the gang for a long time pulling them much deeper into its dark center like a water monster devouring its prey whole. Everyone was hoping not to puke in the midst of this as the churning liquid would just come back to them mixed with someone else's. After about ten minutes of the spinning and stomach churning action. The whirl pool suddenly stopped and dropped the gang on solid ground. The gang was surprised. They had expected themselves to be lifeless skins full of liquid by now but instead they had all survived a twisting turn of events.

"Where are we?" Kate and Allie asked groggily.

"I don't know." Mina answered while trying hard to not to throw up.

It was pitch black where they had arrived. Kin squinted around trying to see where they had landed. It felt like they were all in a very old room because he could smell the dust lingering in the air and the sour smell of cobweb covered walls. He thought he heard the scurrying of rats in the distance. Suddenly several torches on the walls lit up illuminating the room before them. What they saw was a huge chamber with light-brown brick walls covered with strange picture- like writings which looked like they were telling a story. Kin studied the writings before them and mouthed the words to himself before removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"What's up Kin, something bugging you?" Laney had stepped up behind him trying to figure out what he was doing.

"I don't believe it." Kin whispers.

"Don't believe what?"

"Guys, do you even realize where we are?"

"We are in an ancient room full of centuries old dust that is crawling with scorpions." Trina hissed. The trick they played on her back at camp still creeped her out.

"Not just any ancient room," Mina's face dawned with realization. "We're in an ancient pyramid chamber!"

"WHAT?!"

(Pyramid Transition)

"So we're trapped inside a pyramid with no clue as to where we're headed, and there's a good chance of one of us triggering another booby trap which might kill us all." Laney stammers as they all try to maneuver their way around the pyramid's secret passages. So far Kon almost fell into a ditch full of spikes. Kate and Allie accidently crushed a mummy's bones, Trina nearly got stung by a handful of a new species of bugs still unknown to science and Corey just happened to gain possession of a centuries old book that looked like it could be used to summon souls from the Egyptian underworld.

"Are you sure you wanna keep that book Corey? Cause the cover looks pretty scary. "Kin motions with his eyes towards the book. It was indeed frightening. The cover displayed a picture of a lake of fire and people with heads of hawks being called up to the earth to submit to a pharaoh's orders.

"Relax Kin, I don't know how to read this stuff." Corey replied.

"Allie can read hieroglyphics." Kate pipes up.

"Really?" Nick asks.

"Sure, but I can't read because my glasses fell off when we were hanging upside down from the vines back in Hawaii remember."

"Here, try these." Mina handed Allie an extra pair of square rimmed glasses she was carrying.

"I can see clearly, thanks Mina." Corey handed Allie the book he was holding. Allie flipped through several torn and spotted pages before coming across an illustration of mummies being wrapped up in bandages.

"What does it say?"

Allie cleared her throat loudly before reciting a passage in the book.

"Arise your majesty from your deep sleep."

"The mourners cry, the people weep."

"When you arise, we all will dance."

"Your soldiers will come out of their trance."

"Destroy all who cross their paths."

"An army to the very last."

Everyone was startled by what Allie just read.

"We're in trouble Core." Laney announces.

"Trouble, Lanes?" Corey asked unmindful of what he just heard.

"Nothing's gonna happen Laney." Kon answered.

"Yeah, Lamey"

"It's Laney!"

They continued arguing for a while before coming across what looked like an old throne room. To Trina's luck there was an old chest overflowing with gold, rubies, other precious stones.

"Eeeeeeeeekkk!" Trina dove into the chest retrieving all kinds of clothing and bangles.

"Pretty, ooohh, this one's mine, all mine!" She screamed and ran behind the throne clutching her findings to her chest.

"Trina's gone crazy!" Laney whispered.

"Nick Mallory thinks the same."

"Bow before me you worthless peasants!" The gang turned around to see Trina dressed from head to toe in jewel encrusted cotton robes. Gold and silver bracelets jingled from her wrists. She had applied black eyeshadow to her eyelids and wore red lipstick and right on top of her head was an Egyptian Queen's crown covered in gold. Just then a loud groan came from across the room, the gang fearfully turned around to see someone standing near the entrance to the throne room covered in dirty bandages from head to foot, his eyes looked more like black dots that seemed to burn into your soul. It was the pharaoh.


	5. Pharaoh's Wrath

The gang stared in horror as the undead king slowly unwrapped himself. Dust drifted down onto the floor and desert beetles dropped down with loud clicks. A musty smell floated to Corey's nose making him gag uncontrollably. Everyone held their breath when the last bandage fell off from his face. Instead of a dead face crawling with maggots, there stood a young guy about Nick's age. His skin looked like it was made of polished bronze. His hair was black as charcoal and his muscles (Trina noted) looked like it had been carved by angels.

"Who brought me back?" He asked.

"You speak English?" exclaimed a surprised Corey.

"No, I'm speaking Egyptian but the magic of these pyramids make you hear me speak your language, and I hear you speak my tongue." He said simply.

"What brought you here?" Laney asked.

"I was awakened from my peaceful slumber by a chant of rising."

"Um. . . I brought you back." Allie stammered.

"Little girl brought me back?"

"Uh, huh." There was a very long pause.

"Um . . . your highness, what is your name?" Mina questioned.

"My name is Ptolemy, but you shall address me with great respect or I shall have you thrown in the river Nile where the crocodiles will feast on your flesh." He threatened. "Now before I take the throne I must meet my future wife."

"There's no queen here." Kate said.

"Nonsense." King Ptolemy replied. "She is standing right there looking radiant as ever." He pointed to Trina.

"Nick Mallory's afraid you're mistaking." Nick said. "That's not your queen that is Corey's sister Trina Riffin."

"Rubbish!" Trina screamed with fake tears.

"Trina! What are you doing?"

"You have upset her!" Ptolemy shouted angrily. "Guards seized these foreigners, and lock them up, they are to be thrown to the crocodiles tomorrow morning when I wed my beautiful bride."

They all watched helplessly as Ptolemy's guards (humans with eagle heads) escorted Trina away into the Queen's chambers while the rest dragged the gang to the dungeons.

(Locking up Transition)

"What's going on with Trina?" Corey asked after they'd all been thrown into their cells.

"Duh Core, she wants us executed." Laney answers irritated. How long will he be oblivious to everything around him?

"Maybe she's just confused." Kon adds.

"Confused Kon, I don't think so. You saw the way she acted when she saw all that gold and diamonds and of course the crown." Kin points out.

"Don't forget the pharaoh." Kate and Allie speak with dreamy looks on their faces.

"She's got it bad." Mina declares aloud it echoes throughout the room.

"Nick Mallory is afraid that Trina Riffin might not like the pharaoh for long." Nick says thoughtfully.

"He's right!" Mina exclaims.

"What are you talking about Mina?" Corey questions.

"According to Egyptian culture, it is important that a queen must always be with her husband through to the afterlife."

"Meaning?"

"If the pharaoh were to die a natural death or be killed and buried, then Trina will have to die too."

Silence followed.

"Ok. . . while you guys plan on how to get out of here, I'm going to fix the machine." Kin breaks in.

"Good idea."

. . .

After Kin had finished fixing the bugs on the Travel Machine, he slumped down against the cell walls exhausted while listening to the bickering of the rest of the gang.

"Man I'm hungry." Kon announces.

"So am I." Laney agrees.

"Did you all get those grey pills I put in the survival kits?" Kin asks weakly.

"I got all of them." Laney responds emptying her pockets. About 30 grey pills fell out of her hands. "What are these for?"

"Just place them on a clean surface and put two drops of water on them."

Kate and Allie gathered a handful of straw inside the cell and put them at Laney's feet. Laney dropped the pills and Corey released a few drops of water onto the pills. Without warning the pills started to swell up and suddenly bursts open. Everyone except Kin shuts their eyes in surprise and slowly opens them. The sight that greeted them was simply glorious. About several different dishes laid in order from the appetizers to the main course to the desserts. It was delicious. In the appetizers, there was chicken soup and shrimp with mixed veggies. The main courses consisted of spaghetti, roast beef and steak with a side dish of carrots and potatoes with butter melted perfectly on it. As for the desserts there was a little bit of everything from banana splits to cakes to custard and cream to blocks of ice cream of various flavors. Kon was the first to dive into the desserts. Mina and Nick helped themselves to a couple of shrimps dipped in sweet and sour sauce, Laney was slurping up spaghetti and getting ketchup mixed in her hair but it was unnoticeable. Corey, Kin and the groupies sat down and stuffed themselves full of roast beef. There was no one around because most of the guards were stationed outside Trina's chambers to protect her from Corey.

(After Meal Transition)

"Ugh, so stuffed." Laney quotes. "Eww, what was that?"

"Sorry." Kon apologizes while giving off a second lethal fart. It echoes throughout the cell.

"Gross bro, you're gonna make me throw up everything good." Kin nearly pukes.

"So has anyone figured out how we're going get out of here?" Mina pipes up.

"We could play dead." Corey suggested, he was too tired to think straight.

"Or. . . we could use the travel machine to get out of here!" Kin yelled.

"Right." everybody echoes weakly.

. . .

Early the next morning around 4:00 am, Corey and the gang snuck into the throne room. They expected to find it looking bare for it was still slightly dark but much to their disappointment and surprise, it was already decorated for the wedding to take place. Corey and Nick made their way into Trina's room and found her snoring on a bed of linen. Her makeup was smudged and she looked like a vampire. He slowly gagged her and swiftly and silently Nick Mallory picked her up and Corey used the large sack Trina previously used to kidnap Nick to bag her. They both quickly tiptoed out of the chambers. Kin was waiting outside of the throne room, as soon as they arrived, Kin quickly enlarged the Travel Machine and they all got in. It was a relief for the trio when the Travel Machine transported them out of the pyramid and back to the oasis where the rest of the gang had been previously placed. Corey emerged looking triumphant followed by Nick dragging Trina behind him. Laney, Kon, Mina and the groupies had already set up camp and fallen asleep. Corey quietly pitched Trina's tent and dumped the sack in. Corey and Nick pitched their own tents while Kin crawled into his two-man tent and fell asleep next to a farting Kon.


	6. The End, Finally!

Three hours later Corey woke up by sound of high pitch screaming. It was Trina.

"What is going on?" she yelled "Where am I?"

Corey was the first to run out. Dang it! I didn't tie her hands. He watched as Trina marched around trying to find something to kick into the air. She looked ridiculous. She strutted out like a duck and her face looked like she hadn't slept for years. Her screaming had woken up everybody.

Laney came out with her hair in messy curls.

"Corey, you better calm her or I'll take her down myself." Her voice was dangerously serene.

Corey knew she wasn't kidding. "Okay Trina quiet!" He shouted.

Trina stopped.

"Good." Corey continued. "Everyone pack up. We're going home."

There was a sudden ruffle of clothes in the tents and bags zipping. Five minutes later they all stood outside the Travel Machine looking strangely solemn. Kin was puzzled. "What's going on dudes?" He asked "You're all creeping me out."

"It's just that we've been in different locations in just a couple of days." Mina quoted.

"And we almost died." Kate added.

"But we didn't." Allie continued.

"I've never eaten a lot in any of my travels." Kon said.

"You've never travelled out of Peaceville, Kon." Corey chuckled.

"True." Laney agreed.

"Nick Mallory suggests that we get going." Nick said.

They all got into the machine and this time there was a ten second countdown with no gut churning rotations. They felt a huge thud under their feet in about minute and when they all stepped out, they were greeted with a familiar cheesy smell. They were home.

"That was some trip." Allie commented.

"I know right." Kate stated.

"So what now?" Kin asked.

"I don't know." Laney says with confusion.

"Nick Mallory thinks there shouldn't be any trips from now on."

"You got that right Nick." Mina spoke quietly. "You wanna go walk in the park, 'cause I'm going there right now."

Nick smiled and the two of them strolled out of the garage hand in hand. Trina stormed into her room and slammed the door behind her. Corey was left alone with Laney. The others had mysteriously disappeared. "You wanna go watch a movie at around seven Lanes?" Corey asked shyly.

Laney smiled. "Sure Core, I could use a good horror film after all the drama."

Corey blushed and they walked off. Behind the junk in the garage Kin, Kon and the groupies were silently watching the duo.

"Well it's about time Corey said something." Kin says with relief.

"Corey and Laney sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Kate and Allie sang.

"You twos should probably keep an eye on Corey." Kon suggested. "Who knows when he may need you."

"Nah, he's good. See ya."

"Well Kin, Corey's not here to close the garage door. Do the honors, please."

"Thanks for coming out everyone."

"Hey, that's my line!" Corey shouts in the distance.


End file.
